News

"Bless the Lord, you winter cold and summer heat, sing and exalt Him unto all ages!" (Song of the Three Holy Youths, Daniel 3:67)

As our diocese thaws from the brutally cold and snowy winter of 2015, the hearts of Orthodox Christians at St. Philip's, Souderton, PA are continuing to warm to the great calling of our life in Christ! "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works!" (Ephesians 2:10). Here's a little glimpse of the flowers opening up to bloom in God's garden in South Eastern Pennsylvania.

Christina Andresen, OCF's manager of Chapter Relations, writes: "It is imperative that we personally contact every first-year Orthodox college student so that they know that an Orthodox family awaits them on campus. This initiative, called the First Forty Days, has our local OCF student leaders, spiritual advisors, and lay coordinators introducing themselves to all incoming students, making sure that they know about Orthodoxy on campus and nearby Orthodox parishes.

We are asking that each parish provide us with basic information about their high school graduates who will be attending college in the fall.

“When you see a poor person, remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ by which He declared that it is He, Himself who is fed. For though that which appears be not Christ, yet in that person’s form, it is Christ Himself who receives and begs.”

--St. John Chrysostom, “Homilies on Mathew” #78.

His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph writes:

Beloved in the Lord:

Greetings and blessings to you as we enter this most holy season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

During this time of the Great Fast, we once again turn our attention to the Food for Hungry People Program of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine. For more than 40 years, this campaign has had a tremendous impact throughout the world to help alleviate hunger and the numberless tragedies caused by poverty. With the many tragic events in our own country and throughout the world that happen each day, we continue to have a great need for almsgiving every day. As such, this special program of our Archdiocese helps with both large catastrophes or when smaller needs arise in any given year.

Father Thomas was the beloved husband of Matushka Anne [Schmemann] Hopko. They were married on June 9, 1963. Together, Fr. Thomas and Anne are the parents of five children, sixteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

"Father Thomas was a good friend of the Archdiocese," reflected Vicar-General and St. Nicholas Cathedral Dean Fr. Thomas Zain. "He helped educate many of our clergy over the years, and often gave lectures and led retreats in our parishes throughout the country."

In the Old Testament, a jubilee year occurred at the conclusion of the seventh cycle of seven years—in other words, every 49 or 50 years. It was a year of mercy, holiness and celebration. For our Antiochian Archdiocese, this is a Jubilee Year in celebration of St. Raphael, and to add to the celebration the Department of Christian Education will give away our Holy Land Posters and the St. Raphael Posters at the Parish Life Conferences. Parishes will have carrying tubes reserved with their names for collecting the posters they desire. Let's make our classrooms holy places filled with art—take advantage of this opportunity!

Homeschool conference attendees from a previous yearAnother year has rolled on by and it's time, once again, for the St. Emmelia Orthodox Homeschooling Conference, hosted by Antiochian Village. The 2015 conference dates are set for April 23–26, and registration materials are available on the Village's website.

The evening Keynote Speaker is Fr. Andrew Steven Damick, pastor of St. Paul Orthodox Church of Emmaus, PA, author of Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy and An Introduction to God, and host of the "Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy" and "Roads from Emmaus" podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio. Other distinguished speakers and workshop leaders are: Lori Peterson Branch, professor of English at the University of Iowa; Theodore (Ted) Federoff, homeschooling dad and a board certified emergency medicine physician currently working in Jersey Shore, PA; Shell Keim, experienced homeschool mom and the Director of Education at All Saints Orthodox Church in Raleigh, NC; Andrew Kern, founder and president of the CiRCE Institute; Charlotte Riggle, of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Tacoma, WA and seasoned home educator; Dr. Christopher and Anna Veniamin from St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary and Mount Thabor Publishing; and Barbara Shukin, art professor and gallery director.

Archpriest Thomas Williams, 73, of St John the Theologian/Rapid City, SD reposed early on the morning of March 12, 2015 following a long and valiant battle with cancer. Father Thomas is survived by his wife Khouriya Josephine ("Jody"), their son Christopher and daughter-in-law Hillary, and grandson Shephard.

Ten priests from throughout the Diocese of Wichita joined His Grace Bisho Basil and Hierodeacon Benedict for the Funeral Service for Departed Priest on Friday evening, March 13th, and for the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the General Funeral Service on Saturday morning. Fr. Michael Fulton of Holy Resurrection Church in Gillette, WY oversaw the vesting of Fr. Thomas and all aspects of the gospel vigil, divine services, interment and meal of mercy.

Last weekend I visited parishes and college students in the Baltimore, MD area. While I was there, Orthodox clergy and faithful asked that I offer a response to what's going on in the Middle East. Attached is my response. Special thanks to Fr Andrew Damick for his contribution to what you'll read here.

To introduce this, I'll simply ask you to pray "for the peace of the whole world, the good estate of the Holy Churches of God, and the union of all men."

In recent months, images and stories of Christians being killed for their faith in the Middle East have flooded our news sources and dominated our social media. We see beheadings and shootings, sometimes available as gruesome videos on the Internet that are intended by their makers to inspire some to join their cause and others to cower in fear. We have seen bishops kidnapped, priests shot in the street as they ministered to the suffering, and innocents lined up and had their heads sawn off with knives.

Christians are not the only ones suffering in the Middle East—Muslims, Druze, Yazidis and others are also being targeted by the armies of takfirism. They are also dying for their faith, and even though we Christians do not share their religion with them, we still suffer with them in solidarity, because Christ still died and rose from the dead for them, even if they do not believe it.

Ancient Faith Radio's newest podcast, The Life of the Church Today, debuted on February 16, 2015. Host Fr. Steven Ritter, priest of St. James Orthodox Church in Buford, GA, is planning to use the podcast to consider a wide range of issues that arise in the Orthodox Church: current events, theological opinions, and esoteric topics that many people ask about and which are infrequently or inadequately addressed. It is meant to further discussion and bring to light the multifaceted human face of life in the Orthodox Church today.

Presenting the check for the Metropolitan Philip Youth Worker ScholarshipWith the blessing of Metropolitan Joseph, NAC SOYO announces that the application for the 2015 SOYO Metropolitan Philip Youth Worker Scholarship is now available.

Requirements for Eligibility

The following are the requirements that must be met in order to be eligible for the Youth Worker Scholarship.

· The applicant must have been an active member of an Antiochian parish for at least the last five years.· The applicant must be active in youth work.· The applicant agrees to enroll in a recognized Orthodox Christian program with a youth ministry focus or component; programs such as the St. Stephen's YouthMinistry Concentration of the Antiochian House of Studies.· The recipient will seek direction from the Chairman of the Archdiocese Department of Youth as to which institution is available for training.· The applicant is willing to make a minimum three year commitment to parish youth work in the Antiochian Archdiocese either as a volunteer or on a paid basis, but only following completion of the program [EC1] .

From time to time, the Antiochian Archdiocese receives reports of solicitations and offers on Social Media and through email, that claim to be officially sanctioned by the Archdiocese. Please be aware that any officially sanctioned solicitation or offer from the Archdiocese will either be posted on the Archdiocese website, or will be sent by a sanctioned email message from an Archdiocesan email address.

On Sunday, March 29, 2015 the IOCC Pittsburgh Metropolitan Committee plans to hold a prayer service and fund raising dinner that will benefit our Syrian brothers and sisters in Christ. This Syrian Relief gathering will be held at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Pittsburgh, PA. We would like to cordially invite your parish to attend, and support IOCC's aid efforts in Syria.

The recent conflict has been devastating. It has resulted in the displacement of numerous Orthodox Christians that are now hungry, homeless, and lacking essential items.

Last year Archbishop Melchisedek, Metropolitan Silouan, Metropolitan Savas, Bishop Thomas, and (former) Archbishop Theodosius led our Syrian Relief gathering. This year we are hoping to more fully engage all of the Orthodox jurisdictions and faithful in this Orthodox offering of love, prayer, and mercy. Please join us!

It is time once again for the Fellowship's Spring Gathering, scheduled for March 27-29 in Cicero. Bishop Anthony is scheduled to attend as well. We would like to see a delegates from every parish for the teens, fellowship/young adults, and ladies. The flyer and schedule are attached to this email. I've posted the registration information for the hotel and the meetings on this website: https://dotamregistration.wordpress.com/

Also, we are going to do a sock drive (something easy and fun!). Everyone who attends is asked to bring one pair of socks (or more) with his/her registration. We are hoping that organizations within each parish might do a sock drive...they are going to the nuns at the Fraternite Notre Dame. So please help get the word out on this.

Exhausted and traumatized Christians from villages in northeastern Syria gather at an Orthodox Christian Church in Hasakah, seeking refuge after their small communities were terrorized this week. photo: IOCC/GOPAFebruary 25, 2015

Baltimore, MD (IOCC) — Fleeing for their lives, more than 2,400 exhausted and traumatized Christians from northeastern Syria sought refuge in the towns of Hasakah and Qamishli after their small communities were terrorized this week. The attackers targeted a stretch of villages along the southern bank of the Khabour River, where they burned homes and churches, murdered a fleeing 16-year-old boy, and abducted 150 Assyrian Christian men, women and children from their homes.

For those who managed to escape the attack and seek shelter in Hasakah, International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), with its church partner, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East (GOPA), is providing food, medical attention, and emergency aid. IOCC/GOPA, which has offices in both Hasakah and Qamishli, is responding to the immediate needs of more than 1,000 displaced Syrian families seeking shelter at the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church in the Al Nasreh neighborhood of Hasakah with the distribution of food parcels, bedding, infant clothing and shoes. More than 600 of the survivors who fled the onslaught are children.

IOCC, an ACT Alliance member, is one of the few humanitarian organizations inside Syria providing immediate assistance to displaced families and elderly who have endured four years of a brutal war. Working in 28 offices across Syria, IOCC has provided relief to 2.5 million vulnerable people inside Syria since 2012.

His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph has begun publishing a public schedule on the Archdiocese website. The schedule is linked in the Resources and Links section of the sidebar on the official Metropolitan Joseph page. Check back regularly for future improvements and updates.

The 2015 Orthodox Institute will be held Thursday, November 5 through Sunday, November 8, 2015 at Antiochian Village. Please check back later for more information, or visit the Orthodox Institute 2015 on Facebook.

Reverend Clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest,

Christ is in our midst!

Lent is the road; the Resurrection is the destination. Lent is revival; Pascha is our arrival.

Lent is demanding and rewarding. It is hard to change, to leave the comfort zones of daily routines. And yet, there is also a freshness and happiness when we leave old habits and strike out into the mystery of what waits for us, and of whom we might become through our journey to the empty tomb. There may be strength in us that we discover has always been a part of us. For if we can reverse course, and use our spiritual energy to gain virtue instead of satisfying desire, a youthfulness comes to us. Those many desires that we have waste our energy and exhaust God’s grace in us, and as the eighth prayer in our morning prayers addressed to the Mother of God says, “I am aged by senseless sins.”

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America has launched a national study, "Exploring Orthodox Generosity: Giving in US Orthodox Parishes." All Orthodox clergy and laity are invited to take part in this unique project, and we particularly encourage members of the Antiochian Archdiocese to participate by taking the survey online at this link.

The following are examples of questions that the study will explore:

• Why do people give (or not give) to their parishes?

• Are Church members satisfied with how financial matters are handled in their parishes?

• How do parishioners make decisions on how much, when and why to give?

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) has announced that this coming Sunday, February 22, 2015, is Orthodox Mission Sunday. "Please pray for Orthodox missionaries, mission volunteers, and missions ministries this Sunday," noted the release. "There are many opportunities for you to answer the call to make disciples of all nations, and the Orthodox Christian Mission Center is here to help. Please visit us online at www.ocmc.org, e-mail us at missions@ocmc.org, or call us at 1-877-463-6784 to learn more!"

OCMC is the official missions agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. The organization supports numerous short and long term missionary efforts in the United States and overseas.

Ancient Faith Radio (AFR) has released an interview with Fr. Nabil Hanna, rector of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Indianapolis, IN and a native of Alexandria, Egypt, regarding the recent beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians on a beach in Libya. AFR President John Maddex discusses the martyrdom of these faithful Christians with Fr. Nabil, noting the impact of the video titled "A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross," released by the media arm of the Islamic State.

Father Nabil, recently returned from Egypt, describes in the podcast how the 21 men clearly had an opportunity to renounce their faith, yet chose death rather than do so. The interview closes with a prayer for the martyrs, their families, the perpetrators of these murders, and all of the faithful who live in the shadow of violence.

Starting with the first Sunday of the Triodion, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick has been releasing weekly installments of a 10-part sermon series on evangelism and the Lenten Triodion. The meditations are available in audio form through his Roads from Emmaus podcast, or as posts on the blog of the same name.

Father Andrew, who serves in the Antiochian Archdiocese, says in his introduction, "For the next ten weeks, from today through Palm Sunday, we will be discussing evangelism. Each Sunday of the Triodion has a different theme to it, usually based in the Gospel reading, and all of them have something to say about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. The Gospel is like a great jewel with many facets, each sparkling with its own light, and each drawing us into the depths of the beauty of this most precious gift. So from now until Palm Sunday, we will be looking at different facets of this gem of evangelism."

November 2, 2008: Metropolitan Joseph stands with his lifelong mentor and spiritual father Patriarch Ignatius IV in Boston before the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy.His Eminence, Metropolitan Joseph Reflects on Early Lessons Learned from His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch and All the East

by Subdeacon Peter Samore

All he knew was that he was going to Balamand. Everything else was in God's hands.

In 1964, a 13-year-old Joseph Al-Zehlaoui had been recruited by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East to study at a newly established secondary school next to the seminary and monastery at Balamand near Tripoli, Lebanon. His parents, Georgi and Matilda, had consented to send their fifth of six children at a tender age to a sacred place to know our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ; and to learn how to serve His Holy Church.

Nowadays, the automobile drive between Damascus, young Joseph's hometown, and Tripoli takes just a few hours. In 1964, the drive took several days. And it took several automobiles – taxicabs – to transport the future Metropolitan of North America to his educational and spiritual center. He had some company: boys who would grow up to become Metropolitan Damaskinos Mansour of Brazil; Metropolitan George Abu-Zakhem of Homs, Syria; and Archimandrite Elias Bitar, a legendary priest of the North American archdiocese.

Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), the official campus ministry of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, has announced that its annual observance of a Day of Prayer will be held from February 22-23, 2015, from 6 p.m. on the Sunday of Forgiveness, to 6 p.m. on Clean Monday.

The Day of Prayer program unites the various chapters across North America in unceasing prayer at the start of Great Lent. Chapters on college and university campuses sign up for a time, with each school taking a one-hour slot to pray for themselves, their chapters, their fellow students, and loved ones.

"We invite anyone to submit prayer requests for family members and friends," notes the OCF's website. "Your submissions will be forwarded to each chapter participating in the Day of Prayer to be included in their prayers."